What 389 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 GMC Acadia Denali

When I put the car in park, I get the message "Shift to Park". It does not do it every time but it is happening more and more. I have to wiggle the gearshift or restart the car and shift to neutral to try it again. I am wondering about the safety issue and will the vehicle roll if I am not able to get the message to go away? I have researched this and it is happening on a lot of vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11502327

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that on three separate occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the gears inadvertently shifted from second gear to third gear and then to neutral. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on three separate occasions where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was then taken back a fourth time where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

NHTSA ODI 11498508

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear liftgate warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon inspection, the liftgate was closed. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the liftgate failed to latch securely and a bungy was used to keep the liftgate closed. The contact stated that the dome light illuminated indicating that the doors were open; however, the doors were securely closed. The contact stated that the roof light was turned off and the radio failed to operate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. The VIN was not included.

NHTSA ODI 11495109

Shift to park and unlocked shifter knob, the shifter knob is capable of shifting from drive to neutral without pressing the unlock switch on the shifter while driving. Vehicle says shift to park when parking vehicle, car will not shut off or lock when code is up.

NHTSA ODI 11485569

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while turning off the vehicle, the place shift lever into park message was displayed. The contact had to restart the vehicle several times and move the shifter into the park position for it to disengage. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed the contact about the button on the gear shifter that may be used to reset the system. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,400.

NHTSA ODI 11480508

When I place the gear in park and shut car off, the display states to shift car to park. A loud continuous beep ensues and I would have to start and turn car off several times. The car does not lock nor stop on its own.

NHTSA ODI 11480674

I purchased vehicle in 2018 and by 2019 it started showing a message that said error Shift need to park but I was parked and gear in parking mode .I reported to dealer but said they couldn't help me since my warranty was over due to my job I drive alot so I was over the mileage. So they itbwouldnt be covered since then it goes off and on same message and now I can't get off car until it goes off because I'm afraid to let go of brake if the parking gear don't work. I reported to dealer in time to get assistance but they just brushed it off blamed me for the mileage Maybe causing it but I see here I'm not the only one complaining about message "Shift".

NHTSA ODI 11479976

Stabilitrak Warning keeps showing up on dashboard as I turn my vehicle certain down certain roads, round abouts etc like my car shifts or makes it hard to control going around/through certain road conditions.

NHTSA ODI 11480087

When I park my 2018 GMC Acadia, my infotainment screen states the following warning: "SWIFT TO PARK", but I have already put my car in PARK. This warning started appearing around 28,000 miles; my currect mileage on my Acadia is 28,379 miles. I have checked if there are any recalls on this issue, but found none, but this issue started appearing in the 2017 models

NHTSA ODI 11475281

Car won’t go into park though I’ve shifted to park. Car starts beeping and displays “SHIFT TO PARK!” even though the vehicle is shut off and gear shifter is in park position. I took to dealership, they stated, “gmc NEEDS to recall this, we have to repair every single GMC Acadia we sell with unfortunately the same defective parts” it’s a $500 fix. I just use my parking break everytime I park now.

NHTSA ODI 11474834

The GMC Acadia displays a "shift to park" error. The truck is in park (or appears to be) and the truck says it is not and will not allow it to be turned off. This is a common error with the truck and GMC is refusing to take responsibility and this can cause a fatal error if the truck is not in park and rolls away.

NHTSA ODI 11474423

The shift leaver when putting in park has an error code that the vehicle is not in park when it shows it is. The dealer said this is a common problem and replaced the shift leavers wire harness for 600.00. When this happens there is no way to turn the veh power off and it rolls a little before it engages.

NHTSA ODI 11472839

I own a 2018 GMC Acadia and sometimes after shifting the vehicle into park and turning it off I get a message that says "shift into park" even though it is in park. This happens intermittently and but it is a bit of a pain when it does. I have to either jiggle the shifter or start the car up again and shift into park again. I just called the GMC dealer where I purchase the vehicle new, Mark Porter in Pomeroy, OH, and they said there is a bulletin from GMC on it and the fix is to replace the shifter harness which would cost me around $300. And they said if that doesn't fix the problem the next step would be to replace the shifter which would cost me another $500. In looking online it seems to be happening to a lot of 2018 GMC Acadia's and am wondering why there is no recall on it.

NHTSA ODI 11471980

Shift to park error when turning off vehicle, which would not allow the engine to shut off. Had to have shifter and harness replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11470235

In 2019 my GMC Acadia had the “shift to park” issue in which my vehicle would not shut off and I would have to repeatedly start and shift the gear shift before it would shut off. The problem was “fixed” at the dealership in June 2019. In May 2022, the “shift to park” issue started again. At the dealership now and was informed that since the vehicle is out of warranty, I would be responsible for repairs this time. This is a safety issue that GMC is well aware and should not happen to begin with let alone after repairs. In no way am I going to be held responsible for repairs that obviously were done with either defective parts or parts that were limited to only 3 years without my knowledge. If I knew I would have to do the same repair in 3 years and I would be responsible for it, I would have argued for better parts to begin with. GMC needs to know that this is a real problem that needs to be dealt with immediately.

NHTSA ODI 11468143

Electronic park brake failed to release, flashing park in red on my instrument cluster and after numerous attempts to release it the amber wrench sign also displayed . I could only get it to release after disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it after a few minutes lapsed. It has continued to do this as recent as last week around the 1st of June 2022.

NHTSA ODI 11467922

“Action required Shift to Park” indicator comes on when trying to park vehicle. Vehicle does not recognize that it is in park. Vehicle will continue to move a short distance before recognizing that it has been placed in park and then comes to an abrupt stop. Vehicle sometimes has to be shifted between drive and park several times before it will recognize that it is in park.

NHTSA ODI 11467105

When shifting the car into Park the P lights up and the car appears to be in Park, but an alarm goes off when you press the stop button to turn the car off. Action Required : Shift into Park. You have to restart the car and move the shifter or press the button on the shifter to get it to recognize that the car is in Park. This has gotten worse, last time it took over 20 minutes to get the car to recognize it. I have the car scheduled to go to the shop tomorrow. Warranty has expired due to date. Car only has 17,760 miles on it. 05/27/2022 was the last time the car was driven. I am sure they will try to charge me for this. It is a known issue and there seems to be a class action law suit over it. TSB - 19-NA-206 Dated September 2019. This should be a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11466749

When placing the car into park, dash indicated that the car was not in park. So, emergency brake had be utilized until the problem was determined by a GMC dealer rep. When asked, the rep did stated that this problem was happening with these vehicles. Safety of driver or others was definitely put at risk, car could have rolled out of my driveway or if parked elsewhere. Definitely felt unsafe operating this vehicle. This was happening on a regular basis prior to scheduling an appointment, approximately 2 weeks. Appointment was made at dealer and it was determined that floor shifter had to be replaced. Failure to be able to get the car in park indicated as above. This should be a recall and not a financial responsibility of owner.

NHTSA ODI 11464126

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after shifting into park(P), the gear shift indicator showed the vehicle was in park(P) however, while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the "Shift to Park" warning light remained illuminated. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that after shifting between drive(D) and park(P) several times the contact was able to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,200.

NHTSA ODI 11463618

When I put the vehicle in park to exit the vehicle I get an alert on the dash that says to put the vehicle in park. The vehicle is in fact parked but I can't shut it off or lock it. I have searched and found that there was a class action lawsuit but no recall. The dealership keeps telling me that there isn't a fix for the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11463127

Vehicle does not recognize when in park, safety issue as passenger or driver could step out of vehicle while still in reverse. Unable to shut down vehicle due to not recognizing vehicle is in park.

NHTSA ODI 11460991

Water is leaking down back window from 3rd break light. Seal is bad/crushed was never put in right

NHTSA ODI 11458416

Shift to park warning when parking and shutting down vehicle. Shifter is in park but will not shut off electrical system of vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11454874

Blind spot warning light is not working. There is a previous recall for this for 2014-2017 GMC Acadia Models for the same issue. The issue has not clearly been fixed with models after 2017

NHTSA ODI 11453762